A heating medium injector includes an injector structure defining a heating medium flow path and a product flow path. The heating medium flow path extends to a contact location, while the product flow path also extends to the contact location. The contact location comprises a location at which the heating medium flow path and product flow path merge within the injector. A mixture flow path is defined within the injector structure between the contact location and an injector outlet of the injector structure and is defined at least in part by a mixture flow path outer surface comprising a mixture flow path wall. A cooling structure extends along both a product flow path boundary wall and the mixture flow path wall so as to traverse a plane extending transverse to the foodstuff flow path at the contact location.

The present invention relates to a refrigerator designed to reduce the deterioration rate of stored items, such as food, fruits, vegetables, meat, flowers, and plants, within the storage compartment using plasma and a photocatalyst. Specifically, the invention performs filtering with a photocatalyst and plasma sterilization on the air in the storage compartment to decompose ethylene gas and other substances, thereby reducing the deterioration rate of stored items and extending their storage period. The invention utilizes a compact high-density plasma generator with discharge electrodes and ground electrodes arranged in multiple cells. Plasma is uniformly and multidimensionally generated in the air within the storage compartment, decomposing ethylene gas to slow the deterioration rate of food, fruits, vegetables, meat, flowers, and plants, and extending their storage period.

A device for preserving beverages with a measuring device, is provided which is suitable and intended to determine a flow rate of a liquid flowing through a beverage line, and with a pump device which conveys a preservative, in particular dialkyl dicarbonate, into the beverage line, into the beverage line, the pump device being controllable as a function of a flow rate determined by the measuring device, the device having a venting device for venting the pump device, wherein the venting device has a valve device.

Provided herein are techniques, devices, and systems for determining the safety of an ingestible product with respect to a contaminant as the ingestible product is being processed. A computing system may receive data associated with processing of an ingestible product. Based on the data, and using a model, the computing system may determine a value associated with the ingestible product with respect to a target contaminant. Based on the value, the ingestible product can be classified as a class label indicative of a safety of the ingestible product with respect to the contaminant, such as a classification of safe or unsafe. In some examples, a reduction of a contaminant in an ingestible product is dynamically monitored, in real-time, as the ingestible product is being processed.

A pasteurizing machine for treating liquid or semi-liquid food base products, including: a container adapted to allow the liquid or semi-liquid base products to be processed and treated by pasteurization; a stirring device, mounted inside the container and driven by drive means to stir the mixture consisting of the liquid or semi-liquid base products; drive means, configured to drive the stirring device; a thermal treatment system, including an exchanger associated with the container to heat the mixture consisting of said liquid or semi-liquid base products inside the container; at least one control unit, adapted to control the operation of the drive means;

wherein said drive means comprise a brushless electric motor provided with a rotor including permanent magnets for producing the magnetic field needed to generate the movement.

A system includes a vacuum chamber, a vacuum source, and a mixture flow path adapted to be connected to receive the output of a direct steam injector. The vacuum source is operatively connected to a vacuum port of the vacuum chamber, while a product outlet port from the vacuum chamber is adapted to be connected to an arrangement for removing treated product from the vacuum chamber. The mixture flow path includes a flow path segment outside of the vacuum chamber volume and a flow path segment within the vacuum chamber volume. At least some of a surface defining the flow path segment within the vacuum chamber is in substantial thermal communication with one or more cooling structures.

Methods and apparatus for washing food products are provided. An example controller for controlling washing of a food product is generally configured to execute executable instructions to cause the controller to control generation of a silver ion solution in a wash stage, the generation including mixing components of the silver ion solution in the wash stage, and to control application of the silver ion solution to the food product in the wash stage. An example method of washing a food product generally includes generating a silver ion solution in a wash stage, the generating including mixing components of the silver ion solution in the wash stage, and applying the silver ion solution to the food product in the wash stage.

Methods and apparatus for washing food products (e.g., round produce) are provided. An example apparatus for washing at least one item of round produce generally includes: an applicator configured to apply a first wash treatment solution to an entire exterior surface of the at least one item of round produce; and an opaque shroud configured to prevent light from impinging on the at least one item of round produce and the first wash treatment solution. An example method of washing at least one item of round produce generally includes applying a first wash treatment solution to an entire exterior surface of the item of round produce in a first wash stage while preventing light from impinging on the item of round produce and the first wash treatment solution in the first wash stage.

A pulsed electric field processing apparatus includes: a pulsed power supply that generates a pulse voltage; a pair of electrodes that generates a pulse electric field; a processing chamber that is disposed between the electrodes and includes a space through which a processing target object in a liquid state passes and in which the pulse electric field is generated; a temperature computing unit that computes a processing temperature that is a temperature of the processing target object in the processing chamber on the basis of a resistance value and a preset calibration value, the resistance value being acquired from the pulse voltage and a pulse current flowing through the processing target object in the processing chamber when the pulse voltage is applied to the electrodes; and a power supply control unit that controls the pulsed power supply on the basis of the processing temperature and a preset target temperature.

The present invention discloses a UV sterilization fresh-keeping box, including an accommodating box and a UV sterilization device removably disposed on a top side of the accommodating box. The accommodating box includes a box body with a storage space, and a lid disposed on the box body. The lid has a light transmission part to allow UV light to pass through, and a first assembling part disposed on a peripheral side of the light transmission part. The UV sterilization device includes a case, a UV module disposed in the case, a control module electrically connected to the UV module, and a second assembling part disposed on a bottom side of the case. The UV sterilization device is mounted onto the lid by combining the second assembling part with the first assembling part. The UV module is controlled by the control module to emit UV light towards the light transmission part, so as to sterilize the storage space.